Mail-bag



(No Model.)

No. 469,028. Patented Feb. 16,1892. j; QL-

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVILLIAM A. JOHNSTON, OF JERSEY CITY, NEIV JERSEY.

MAIL-BAG..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,028, dated February16, 1892.

Application filed October 2, 1891. Serial No. 407,537. No model.) i

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bagsand I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inmail-bags; and it has for its obj ects, among others, to provide animproved mail bag or sack which shall have a flexible mouth ormail-receiving opening and which, when closed, shall be rigid at themouth and will be a safeguard against tampering with the contents of thebag or sack. I provide the mouth of the bag and the flap with metallicplates which, when the bag is closed, overlap to prevent bending of thesides of the Inouth for the purpose of removing the locking means, butwhich are so arranged that when the mouth of the bag is opened they Willpermit of sufficient flexibilitythereof for all the required purposes. Iline the inner faces of the locking-tongues with metal to preventbending thereof to unlock the bag.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear,and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by theappended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the mouthportion of the bag with the parts in their locked position. Fig. 2 isaside elevation of the mouth portion of the bag with the flap thrownopen. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line z .e of Fig. l.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews.

Referring now to the details of the drawn ings by letter, A designates aportion of -a mail-bag of known construction except at the mouth end,and therefore only the upper portion has been shown. It is provided witha flap B, to the inner face of which are secured in any suitable mannerthe metallicplates C, which, instead of being one rigid strip, areseparated, as seen best in Fig. 2, forapurpose hereinafter madeapparent. These strips are provided With the staples D, with which thelocking-tongues are designed to engage in a manner hereinafterexplained. Around the upper end of the bag is astrengthening-strip E,which is provided upon opposite sides of the mouth with the slits oropenings a for the reception of the staples D.

F are metallic plates secured to this strengtheng-strip and arranged toalternate with the metallic plates or strips upon the iiap when themouth of the bag is closed, as seen in Fig. 3. Suitable openings orslits Z) are made in these plates to coincide with those in the oppositesides of the bag, as seen in Fig. 3.

G is the locking-bar of a flexible material, as leather, provided withthe tongues c and with longitudinal slots CZ, which are adapted toreceive'the guide-pins e on the bag, as seen best in Fig. l, this mannerof locking the mouth of the bag being of the usual construction andform. The inner faces Vof y these tongues are faced with metal, as seenat f, for two reasons, to prevent Wear thereon as the locking-bar ismoved back and forth and to prevent bending of the tongues by maliciouspersons to unlock the bag. The central tongue through 'which thelocking-staple H passes is faced with metal upon both sides, as seen inFig. 3.

I is the locking-hasp hinged to thelockingbar, as seen in Figs. l and,v3, and provided with a slot for the passage of thelocking staple, asseen in said figures. It is formed with a depression or bend, as seen inFig. 3, for the reception of the staple thereunder.

In operation when 'the bag is locked the metallic plates or strips onthe iiap and face ot' the bag overlap each other, as seen in Fig. 3, andthus provide a rigid unbendable mouth, and the metallic lining to thetongues prevent them being bent to disengage them from their staples, asmay be done when not thus lined. Yhen' the locking-bar is moved todisengage its tongues from the staples the mouth of the bag may beopened, the separated metallic plates permitting ofthe neces saryflexibility at the mouth, as will be readily understood. The alternatingarrangement of the metallic plates is important, for if they were notthus arranged there would still be considerable flexibility at the mouthwhen the bag was locked. By my construction the mouth of the bag, whenclosed, is as stil and rigid as if provided with a single rigid barextending entirely across the bag.

What I claim as new isl 1. A mail-bag having its mouth and tlap providedwith separated metallic plates alternatel y arranged to overlap when themouth of the bag is closed and a locking-bar of flexible material havingtongues lined with metal, substantially as specified.

2. A mail-bag having its flap' and mouth provided with alternately-arranged separated metallic plates having slots for the staples, said platesarranged to overlap when the bag 'is closed, a sliding locking-bar offlexible ma- VILLIAM A. JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

HANS KRAFT, CHARLES SPIERLING.

